Population statistics
![https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/Collection/Census%20and%20Musters/1828-Census-volumes-1.jpg](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/08/9058fc0456984050b4a7c5445fc7b3c6.jpg)
1828 Census
Browse the digitised alphabetical returns. This was the first official census undertaken by NSW and covers some 36,500 inhabitants, both convict and free
![Entry from the 1828 census](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/staging/2d0caa9a5ad63107b620ad4baafbfebafabc6cbe-1086x725.jpg?fit=max&auto=format)
1828 Census - extended webinar
Learn about the 1828 Census and why it was so significant. It has recently been added to the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register
![Screen capture from the 1828 census volume A-Col](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/staging/35bee0a07bfc1b654c4e8366a1748546b2580ba5-811x635.jpg?fit=max&auto=format)
1828 Census - mini webinar
The 1828 Census alphabetical returns are digitised and can be viewed online. This webinar takes a close look at the returns and what they can tell you
Blue Books (Returns of the Colony) 1822-57
Statistical returns of the Colony of New South Wales and of areas under its jurisdiction compiled annually from 1822 to 1857
![](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/d161b55de1a44747941655c717f49f42.jpg)
Census - 1841
The 1841 Census lists all the surviving householders' returns (heads of households only) and abstracts of returns
![](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/11/1997b2281fbf4e59b8d730ec5b7402ea.jpg)
Norfolk Island guide
As well as being a penal establishment, one of the primary reasons for the first settlement at Norfolk Island was economic: the Colonial Government hoped to utilise the flax and pine trees on Norfolk Island